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The sounds of summer (and a playlist!)

by Jennifer

Jennifer is a stay-at-home mom to two energetic, fun loving boys, ages six and three. She found a new passion in exploring great children's music after becoming a mom, which she blogs about at Swing Whistle Zing. Jennifer fancies finding quality tunes the whole family can enjoy, and dancing with her boys (both big and little) to her favorite songs that connect her to the past and keep her grounded in the present.

Have you been paying attention to the sounds of summer? I started making my own list a couple of weeks ago, and it’s really been a lot of fun.

My ears are usually filled with other sounds – more specifically, the sounds of kids’ music, since that’s what I write about on Swing Whistle Zing.

But for summer, I’m giving my ears a different focus and paying attention to the sounds of the world around me.

I’m not always a stellar memory keeper, but everyday noises such as an owl hooting, children laughing, or squeaky wheels on a bike create an opportunity to make an imprint in your brain — a sound memory.

Some of my favorites? Slurping ice cream, birds singing outside my window while visiting my childhood home, laughter during a heated game of brotherly chase, calls of “ready or not, here I come!” in the park, the slapping sound of bare feet running around, and the boom of 4th of July fireworks.

To add a little soundtrack to your sounds of summer, I created a Summer Sampler Playlist for Simple Mom readers, highlighting some great kids’ music tunes from artists I’ve featured recently on Swing Whistle Zing. I think you’ll find this family friendly collection makes a great accompaniment to your next backyard barbeque or some fresh sounds for a family road trip.
You can find the whole playlist on Spotify (or if you’re interested in purchasing the playlist, you can do that here). Artist names are linked to the review on Swing Whistle Zing, in the event you find one you love and want to hear more.

May you enjoy some summer moments as happy as lazy raisins in the sun.

We were just on vacation with my parents, my sister, and brother-in-law to the wilds of Wisconsin. Our plush log cabin had a huge porch to sit on and a swing. The birds were crazy. My sister brought up birdjam.com on her iphone and had all sorts of birds talking to her. She had a crowd of 6 or 7 chickadees completely confused. LOL

Sounds like fun! I’ll have to check that one out. We’ve been enjoying the sounds of birds this summer too with another album I didn’t mention – Listen to the Birds. It’s another one of our summer favorites.